Screening of Myxobacteria Carrying Tubulysin Biosynthetic Genes

Tubulysins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by myxobacteria that inhibit the function of the eukayotic cytoskeleton. We developed a pair of PCR primers that specifically amplified tubulysin biosynthetic genes. Using these primers, eight out of the eighty-one strains of myxobacteria belonging to the Cystobacteraceae family that harbored putative tubulysin biosynthetic genes were screened through PCR analysis. The selected strains included two Archangium gephyra, two Stigmatella sp., two Vitiosangium cumulatum, and two unidentified myxobacteria. LC-MS analysis of the culture extracts from the selected strains revealed that A. gephyra KYC4066 produced putative tubulysin A and B. KCI Citation Count: 1